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Readings in science methods, K-8 / Eric Brunsell, editor. 

p. cm. 

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1. Science--Study and teaching (Elementary) 2. Science--Study and teaching (Secondary) 3. Teachers--Training 

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Contents 

There’s More To Teaching science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi 

Doug Ronsberg (Science and Children, Sept 2006) 

inTroDUcTion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii 

inqUiring MinDs Do WanT To KnoW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv 

Kaitlyn Hood and Jack A. Gerlovich (Science and Children, Feb 2007) 

Section 1 

The Nature of Science and Science Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

A Literature-Circles Approach to Understanding Science as a Human Endeavor . . . .13 

William Straits (Science Scope, Oct 2007) 

Light Students’ Interest in the Nature of Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 

Joanne K. Olson (Science Scope, Sept 2003) 

Did You Really Prove It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 

Carolyn Reeves and Debby Chessin (Science Scope, Sept 2003) 

An Inquiry Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

Alan Colburn (Science Scope, March 2000) 

Inquiry Made Easy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 

Wendy Pierce (Science and Children, May 2001) 

Blow-by-Blow Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 

Cathy A. Wittrock and Lloyd H. Barrow (Science and Children, Feb 2000) 

Why Do We Classify Things in Science? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 

Bill Robertson (Science and Children, Jan 2008)

vi 


Section 2 

Teaching Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 

Learner Centered 

Teaching for Conceptual Change in Space Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 

Eric Brunsell and Jason Marcks (Science Scope, Summer 2007) 

Egg Bungee Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 

Thomas Tretter (Science Scope, Feb 2005) 

Science Homework overhaul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 

Michelle Trueworthy (Science and Children, Dec 2006) 

Investigating Students’ Ideas About Plate Tectonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 

Brent Ford and Melanie Taylor (Science Scope, Sept 2006) 

More Than Just a Day Away From School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 

Michelle Scribner-MacLean and Lesley Kennedy (Science Scope, April/May 2000) 

Knowledge Centered 

Explaining Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 

Mark J. Gagnon and Sandra K. Abell (Science and Children, Jan 2008) 

The Station Approach: How to Teach With Limited Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 

Denise Jaques Jones (Science Scope, Feb 2007) 

How Do You Know That? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 

Jennifer Folsom, Catherine Hunt, Maria Cavicchio, Anne Schoenemann, and 

Matthew D’Amato (Science and Children, Jan 2007) 

Plants and Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 

Eric Brunsell and J. William Hug (Science and Children, April/May 2007) 

Rock Solid Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 

Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (Science and Children, Dec 2006) 

“Inquirize” Your Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 

Susan Everett and Richard Moyer (Science and Children, March 2007) 

Embracing Controversy in the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131 

Kelly Cannard (Science Scope, Summer 2005) 

Assessment Centered 

Embed Assessment in Your Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 

David F. Treagust, Roberta Jacobowitz, James J. Gallaher, and Joyce Parker (Science Scope, 

March 2003) 

Seamless Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 

Mark J. Volkmann and Sandra K. Abell (Science and Children, May 2003) 

Using Interactive Science Notebooks for Inquiry-Based Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 

Robert Chesbro (Science Scope, April/May 2006) 

Formative Assessment Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 

Francis Eberle and Page Keeley (Science and Children, Jan 2008) 

Assessing Scientific Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165 

Erin Peters (Science Scope, Jan 2008) 

NATIoNAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSoCIATIoN


Cartoons—An Alternative Learning Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 

Youngjin Song, Misook Heo, Larry Krumenaker, and Deborah Tippins 

(Science Scope, Jan 2008) 

Community Centered 

Making Time for Science Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 

Mark J. Gagnon and Sandra K. Abell (Science and Children, April/May 2007) 

Evidence Helps the KWL Get a KLEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 

Kimber Hershberger, Carla Zembal-Saul, and Mary L. Starr (Science and Children, Feb 2006) 

Questioning Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191 

Erin Marie Furtak and Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo (Science Scope, Jan 2005) 

Thinking About Students’ Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197 

Jaclyn Turner (Science Scope, Nov 2006) 

The Eight-Step Method to Great Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203 

Sally Steward and Jill Swango (Science Scope, April 2004) 

Section 3 

Science for All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 

Cultural Diversity in the Science Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 

Patrick L. Brown and Sandra K. Abell (Science and Children, Summer 2007) 

Capitalizing on Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219 

Lenola Allen-Sommerville (The Science Teacher, Feb 1996) 

Supporting English Language Learners’ Reading in the Science Classroom . . . . . . .223 

Greg Corder (Science Scope, Sept 2007) 

Science Success for Students With Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 

Marcee M. Steele (Science and Children, Oct 2007) 

Section 4 

Science Teaching Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 

Reading and Writing Strategies 

Erupting With Great Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241 

Ann Bullion-Mears, Joyce K. McCauley, and J. YeVette McWhorter (Science Scope, Sept 2007) 

Developing Strategic Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249 

Jennifer Jones and Susie Leahy (Science and Children, Nov 2006) 

14 Writing Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255 

Thomas Turner and Amy Broemmel (Science Scope, Dec 2006) 

Science the “Write” Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261 

Valarie L. Akerson and Terrell A. Young (Science and Children, Nov/Dec 2005) 

Integrating Other Disciplines 

Connecting With other Disciplines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267 

Meredith A. Park Rogers and Sandra K. Abell (Science and Children, Feb 2007) 

Readings in Science Methods, K–8 

vii

viii 


Art and Science Grow Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 

Pat Stellflue, Marie Allen, and D. Timothy Gerber (Science and Children, Sept 2005) 

En“Light”ening Geometry for Middle School Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 

Julie LaConte (Science Scope, Dec 2007) 

A Blended Neighborhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281 

Chris Ohana and Kent Ryan (Science and Children, April 2003) 

Integrating Technology 

Cell City Web Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289 

Clay Rasmussen, Amy Resler, and Audra Rasmussen (Science Scope, Jan 2008) 

Using Web-Based Simulations to Promote Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 

Mel Limson, Crystal Witzlib, and Robert A. Desharnais (Science Scope, Feb 2007) 

Making “Photo” Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 

Julianne Doto and Susan Golbeck (Science and Children, Oct 2007) 

Learning With Loggerheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305 

Christine Lener and Theodora Pinou (Science and Children, Sept 2007) 

Up-to-the-Minute Meteorology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311 

Mervyn J. Wighting, Robert A. Lucking, and Edwin P. Christmann (Science Scope, Feb 2004) 

Teaching Science to Young Children 

What’s the Matter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315 

Susie Barcus and Mary M. Patton (Science and Children, Sept 1996) 

Discovery Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319 

Jaimee Wood (Science and Children, April/May 2005) 

It’s a Frog’s Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323 

Audrey L. Coffey and Donna R. Sterling (Science and Children, Sept 2003) 

The Science and Mathematics of Building Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329 

Ingrid Chalufour, Cindy Hoisington, Robin Moriarty, Jeff Winokur, and Karen Worth 

(Science and Children, Jan 2004) 

Section 5 

Teaching Science Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335 

Quick-Reference Chart of Articles and Content Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341 

Content Standard B: Physical Science 

Film Canister Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345 

Andrew Ferstl and Jamie L. Schneider (The Science Teacher, Jan 2007) 

Breaking the Sound Barrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353 

Tom Brown and Kim Boehringer (Science and Children, Jan 2007) 

What’s Hot? What’s Not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359 

Sandy Buczynski (Science and Children, Oct 2006) 

Circus of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367 

Juanita Jo Matkins and Jacqueline McDonnough (Science and Children, Feb 2004) 



Building Student Mental Constructs of Particle Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373 

Erin Peters (Science Scope, Oct 2006) 

You Can Always Tell a Dancer by Her Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377 

Joan Lindgren and Marcia Cushall (Science Scope, Jan 2001) 

Content Standard C: Life Science 

Trash or Treasure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383 

Donna Kowalczyk (Science and Children, April/May 2007) 

Inquiring Into the Digestive System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389 

Carlos Schroeder (Science Scope, Nov 2007) 

Beak Adaptations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .395 

Frank W. Guerrierie (Science Scope, Jan 1999) 

Choice, Control, and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .399 

Pamela Koch, Angela Calabrese Barton, Rabi Whitaker, and Isobel Contento 

(Science Scope, Nov 2007) 

Are There Really Tree Frogs Living in the Schoolyard? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .405 

Brooke L. Talley and Melissa A. Henkel (Science Scope, April/May 2007) 

The Alien Lab: A Study in Genetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411 

Nancy Cowdin (Science Scope, Oct 2002) 

Content Standard D: Earth/Space Science 

Light Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417 

Peggy Ashbrook (Science and Children, Jan 2007) 

They’re M-e-e-elting! An Investigation of Glacial Retreat in Antarctica . . . . . . . . . .419 

Samuel R. Bugg IV, Juanita Constible, Marianne Kaput, and Richard E. Lee Jr. (Science 

Scope, Jan 2007) 

The Dimensions of the Solar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429 

Stephen E. Schneider and Kathleen S. Davis (Science Scope, Summer 2007) 

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435 

Forces at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 

Christine Anne Royce and Judi Hechtman (Science Scope, March 2001) 

UniT Planning, aPPenDiX 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .445 

safeTy in The MiDDle school, aPPenDiX 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .453 

inDeX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 


ix



xii 




Introduction 

Quite often during the summer, my wife 

and I take our children on walks in the 

bluffs along the upper Mississippi River . 

They dart back and forth, flipping over rocks 

and branches, looking for salamanders, bugs, and 

snakes . occasionally, they will slip an interesting 

rock into a pocket or find the perfect walking 

stick (more likely, a poke-your-sibling stick) . 

The woods ring with the sound of laughter and 

a never-ending stream of questions . Usually, one 

of them has started a new question before we 

have a chance to answer the first. Children love 

exploring . The opening line of Doug Ronsberg’s 

poem is the perfect way to begin this book: 

“There’s more to teaching science than stuffing 

kids with facts… .” Science is about questions 

and exploration . Teaching science is about 

helping students ask questions and explore and 

explain the world around them . 

Ronsberg continues, “Encourage novel thinking, 

new approaches, different ways—/creative 

problem solving fosters hope for future days .” 

Former NSTA President Harold Pratt recently 

wrote that good science teaching at the elemen- 


tary level is critical to a child’s future . Poorly 

presented science can deaden children’s curiosity 

and lessen their wonder about the world around 

them . Students should be engaged “not only in 

the practice of science, but also the passion . 

Finding ways to ignite the curiosity and develop 

inquiring habits of mind is most important… .” 

(2007) . The purpose of this book is to provide 

a comprehensive compilation of practical examples 

and strategies for good science teaching, 

set in theoretical frameworks that support 

student learning. The book is divided into five 

sections that cover many aspects of teaching . 

Each section includes reflection questions and 

action steps that you can follow to deepen your 

understanding of the concepts presented . 

Section 1 introduces you to how scientific 

knowledge is created . The section also describes 

a teaching approach—science inquiry—that 

provides a classroom model of how science is 

done . A selection of articles provides strategies 

to support student understanding of science 

and ability to conduct science inquiry . 

xiii

xiv 

Introduction 


Section 2 looks at teaching science through 

four lenses . The learner-centered lens focuses on 

student engagement and initial knowledge . A 

knowledge-centered lens focuses on what content 

students should learn and how they should learn 

it . An assessment-centered lens focuses on using 

assessment to inform instruction and enable 

learning instead of just summative assessment . 

A community-centered lens focuses on creating an 

environment that supports discussion and risk 

taking . 

Section 3 describes teaching that supports 

learning by students from all backgrounds . 

Section 4 provides a toolbox of strategies 

that are important to good teaching: supporting 

literacy, integrating other disciplines, integrating 

technology, and teaching preschool and 

kindergarten students . 

Section 5 describes the content of science 

by providing an overview of the content standards 

from the National Science Education 

Standards . 

For a matrix showing how the articles used 

in this book embody the content standards of 

the National Science Education Standards, turn 

to p . 341 where the articles are aligned with the 

pertinent Standard or Standards . 

To kick off this book, I thought it would be appropriate 

to include the article “Inquiring Minds 

Do Want to Know” by Kaitlyn Hood and Jack 

A . Gerlovich . The article describes the experience 

of a preservice elementary teacher in an 

undergraduate science methods class as she engages 

fifth-grade students in scientific discovery. 

Hood describes the importance of this approach 

when she writes, “Perhaps more than anything 

else it changed the classroom atmosphere from 

presentation to discovery and application . I was 

no longer just a performer—I was someone who 

knew what the students could do and gave them 

a stage on which to perform .” 

My hope is that this compilation will help 

you to create a classroom that encourages creativity 

and promotes exploration, a classroom 

that rings with the sound of laughter and a 

never-ending stream of questions . 

eric Brunsell 

Assistant Professor, Science Education 

Department of Educational Studies 

University of Wisconsin—La Crosse 

reference 

Pratt, H . 2007 . “Science education’s ‘overlooked 

ingredient’: Why the path to global competitiveness 

begins in elementary school .” NSTA 

Express. october 29, 2007 . At http://science.nsta. 

org/nstaexpress/nstaexpress_2007_10_29.htm . 



Inquiring Minds 

Do Want to Know 

By Kaitlyn Hood and Jack A. Gerlovich 

My first foray into inquiry science 

came a few years ago as part of an 

undergraduate science methods class 

at Drake University . In the class, groups of 

my colleagues were assigned to teach a four- 

to six-part lesson to students at various local 

elementary schools . The fifth-grade class to 

which my group was assigned was interested in 

tornadoes, so we decided to present a series of 

lessons that gave students a solid background 

for understanding how a tornado is formed . We 

visited the class six times, each time demonstrating 

a different aspect of tornados and how they 

affect people . (See Figure 1 for a day-by-day 

description of each visit’s lesson plan .) 

I chose to lead the group’s fifth lesson. I 

wanted a lesson that went beyond the tornado in 

a bottle . I envisioned students making a tornado 

in the classroom so they could really see it working 

. I wanted the tornado to be close enough and 

safe enough for them to touch and perhaps even 

alter to make it taller, wider, or faster . Creating the 

tornado would be the students’ experiment— 

not the teacher’s . Although the idea was good, I 


had struggled to put together a lesson plan and 

turned to my professor for help . 

As I discussed what I wanted to do in the 

class, we wondered what would happen if I told 

the students, “We now know about the conditions 

necessary for a tornado to form; let’s figure 

out how to make one in our classroom .” This 

form of teaching—in which the teacher poses 

the question but lets the students decide how 

to answer the question—falls into the guidedinquiry 

approach (Martin-Hansen 2002) . It was 

an approach I was eager to try . 

Trying the Tornado 

The idea to have students create a tornado in class 

made my mind race . Being a preservice teacher, 

I didn’t have a lot of experience with students— 

and I did not see myself going into the classroom 

without knowing exactly what was going to happen 

. What would happen if students could not 

create the tornado? Would the students see us— 

their teachers—as failures? or worse, would they 

think they themselves had failed? I knew enough 

about inquiry-based learning to know that some- 

xv

xvi 


Inquiring Minds Do Want to Know 

Figure 1. 

Breakdown of tornado lessons 

Day One: Informal Preassessment 

This was a chance for the students to get to 

know their new teachers, as well as an opportunity 

for the teachers to find out what 

the students knew about tornadoes. 

Day Two: Introduction to Tornadoes 

The lesson started witph the students returning 

from “specials” to find their classroom 

hit by a tornado. As the class put the 

desks and other classroom materials back 

in order there was a discussion on how a 

tornado can affect someone very personally. 

We then read two short accounts of 

tornado victims to enforce the idea of tornadoes 

being amazing forces of nature but 

also something that can affect someone’s 

life. We ended the class by introducing the 

idea of how tornadoes are formed by using 

bottle tornados as visual aids. 

Day Three: Panel of Experts 

We came into the classroom in costumes—we 

had a child who had lived through a tornado, 

a farmer, a tornado chaser, a weather forecaster, 

and a relief worker. We each gave the 

students a short talk on what we do when a 

tornado forms, and what kinds of things each 

expert finds really important. At the end of 

times the process is more important than the 

product . Wittrock and Barrow (2000) said that 

the teacher is more of a facilitator when teaching 

with inquiry, but, when I thought about that idea 

in a real-life scenario, it scared me to death . Still, 

I forged ahead and created a plan for the lesson 

by reviewing the research we had discussed in 

class and writing a rough time line . I tried to run 

through various scenarios and troubleshoot any 

roadblocks we might encounter . 

Two days later I presented the challenge to 

this lesson we gave them a worksheet to review 

the main points of the lesson and to keep 

in their science journals for future reference. 

Day Four: Science Safety 

The class had already discussed the basic 

ideas of how to be a safe scientist, so we decided 

to focus more on having each student 

sign a safety contract. Two of us dressed 

up as Science Safety Agents and explained 

what we expected from them as scientists. 

At the end of class we told the students that 

we wanted them to try to make a tornado 

next time we came and compiled a list of 

materials they requested. 

Day Five: Making a Tornado 

We brought in the materials, divided into 

groups, and let the students work through 

their ideas twice. The only assistance we gave 

them was when we handled the dry ice. 

Day Six: Assessment 

The class was divided into two groups. Different 

tornado and science safety facts that had 

been discussed throughout our classes were 

the basis of the review game questions. Each 

team worked together to formulate their answers 

and really knew their material. 

students in the classroom at our fifth visit. Students 

were primed for the challenge, because, 

at the conclusion of the fourth lesson, we had 

told students that we would be trying to create 

a tornado in the classroom on our next visit and 

we had brainstormed with them some materials 

we might need for this project: fans, spray bottles, 

bowls, and dry ice . Students chose fans to create 

wind and the spray bottles, because we had talked 

about humid air . They chose dry ice because it 

had been used recently in a school function, and 



the students knew that it formed fog, which they 

thought could be useful in trying to “see” the 

tornado they would create in the classroom . 

When a teacher offers this kind of inquiry experience 

to a class, a lot of preplanning is needed, 

even if there is no predetermined path . The 

teacher should be aware of the potential hazards 

in the materials that are offered, make sure that the 

space and class sizes are appropriate, and discuss 

precautions with students . When student groups 

plan their own inquiry, they should think about 

their own safety plan and have it checked with the 

teacher . Before students handled any materials, we 

talked about safety procedures and established 

that the dry ice was to be handled only by teachers 

who would be wearing goggles and protective 

gloves . We also marked off a tornado “zone” so 

students could not reach the dry ice . In addition, 

we made sure water was kept away from the fan 

plugs and that the fans had screen finger guards. 

When my colleagues and I arrived with the 

materials, I introduced the challenge . I explained 

how we (the teachers) wanted to show the class a 

tornado, but there was not a specific formula for 

creating one in a classroom setting . I told them that 

we had taught them a lot about how tornadoes are 

formed, and, if they used each other as resources, 

they would be able to try to create a tornado . 

Within minutes the kids were in groups formulating 

predictions and designing experiments . 

Then, students started their experiments . We 

approved each one before they began but offered 

students no other help in the process except for 

handling the dry ice for safety purposes . When 

necessary, we asked guiding questions (What 

happened when you changed the position of the 

fan? Why did you make that decision?), referring 

them to their science journals so they could try 

each idea in an organized way . It was amazing 

to watch the students’ faces as they saw each 

experiment begin to work in one aspect but fail 

in another . For example, one group had every fan 

pointed toward the bowl of dry ice to try to force 

the air up in a twister . Another group thought 

that they could create an upside-down twister by 



having the dry ice on the top of a file cabinet and 

trying to move the “smoke” (what the children 

called the frozen water vapor) as it floated to the 

ground . Another group used the spray bottles to 

try to mix dry air with humid air . 

I could see lightbulbs turning on in their minds . 

They spoke of the learning that had occurred 

earlier as they wrestled with their new challenge . 

They referred to parts of other experiments like 

fan placement and what kind of water created 

the most “smoke .” They also took notes on what 

worked in their journals . They had to apply what 

they had learned about the atmospheric conditions 

from our weather forecaster lesson—air 

from two different directions has to combine— 

and what they had studied from using two-liter 

tornado bottle simulations—we put Monopoly 

houses in the bottles so the students could see in 

what direction the twisters were forming . 

A Whirl of Learning 

I wish I could say that students created a tornado, 

but they did not . They also did not realize that 

they “failed .” In our wrap-up discussion that day, 

students admitted that they got close enough that 

they could now visualize the conditions necessary 

to simulate a tornado . We discovered that if you 

turn a box fan upside down the air will “pull the 

‘smoke’ upward .” To get it to spin, you need two 

fans pushing the air in opposite directions . The 

twister can reach only a few feet, but it does twist 

once you get the fans in the right position . 

There was not a single child in that classroom 

who was not involved in that discussion . 

Students were listening to what their peers 

were saying, because they had something to add 

to elaborate on the idea even more . We also took 

the conversation into what went wrong and how 

they were able to problem solve . They used the 

knowledge and processes of investigation—trial 

and error, problem solving—that we had guided 

them through and, by themselves, were able to 

come close to a product that was presented to 

them as nearly impossible . 

Students were so excited about the process 

xvii

xviii 



they may not remember that they could not replicate 

a tornado . What they will likely remember 

is that they were given the opportunity to realize 

that science is truly a verb as well as a noun and 

that they loved the experience . 

Keeping the Spark 

Reflecting on the success of the tornado lesson, I 

tried to come up with a formula or a list of guidelines 

for myself for creating and maintaining this 

kind of spark in a classroom again . What I came 

up with was this: An inquiry-based lesson 

• is more than the lesson idea or the proper 

equipment . It involves trusting your students 

to learn when you give them the time 

and responsibility to think on their own . 

Provide students the tools to know how 

to problem solve, give them guidelines on 

working with others, provide safety reminders, 

and let them explore . our job as teachers 

is to circulate and guide students with 

questions as they discover the solutions . 

• is the kind of activity in which everyone 

in the class can be involved; it may turn 

out that this is where a struggling student 

can really shine . 

• can teach about more than just concepts. 

It gives students a process to use when 

they encounter other problems in and out 

of the classroom . 

• allowed me to see the students use information 

to create something . 

Perhaps more than anything else, the lesson 

changed the classroom atmosphere from presentation 

to discovery and application . I was no longer 

just a performer—I was someone who knew what 

the students could do and gave them a stage on 

which to perform . That is something that will be 

very hard for anyone who witnesses it to forget . 

The tornado experience really surprised me . 

Not only did my group do something fantastic 

with a group of fifth graders that really sparked 

their interest, but the experience also sparked an 

interest in science in me and helped open my eyes 

to new opportunities . As a result of the lesson, I 

decided to intern at the Science Center of Iowa 

to teach inquiry-based projects to elementary 

students . I have continued to work with Drake 

students and the Science Center to promote inquiry 

in the classroom . I am in my second year 

of teaching and continue to incorporate inquirybased 

learning in my classroom . 

Three years ago, if someone had told me I 

would be excited by teaching with a sciencebased 

method I would have rolled my eyes, but 

this experience has changed me and my approach 

to almost everything in my classroom . 

Kaitlyn Hood is in her second year of teaching for Des Moines 

Public Schools. Jack A. Gerlovich is a professor of science 

education at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. 

resources 

Jesky-Smith, R . 2002 . Me, teach science? Science and 

Children 39 (6): 26–30 . 

Kwan, T ., and J . Texley . 2003 . Exploring safety: 

A guide for elementary teachers . Arlington, VA: 

NSTA . 

Martin-Hansen, L. 2002. Defining inquiry. The 

Science Teacher 69 (2): 34–37 . 

National Research Council (NRC) . 1996 . National 

Science Education Standards . Washington DC: 

National Academy Press . 

Wittrock, C ., and L . Barrow . 2000 . Blow-by-blow 

inquiry . Science and Children 37 (5): 34–38 . 

internet 

Tornado Lesson Plan 

www.educ.drake.edu/gerlovich/tornadoes 

Connecting to the Standards 

This article relates to the following National 

Science Education Standards (NRC 1996): 

Teaching Standards 

Standard A: 

Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based 

science program for their students. 



Section 1 

The Nature of Science and Science Inquiry



The Nature of 

Science and 

Science Inquiry 

What Is Science? 

Science is a systematic process of learning 

about the natural world. Scientists attempt 

to understand the world by making 

careful observations and creating theories to 

explain those observations. They make observations 

in many settings and may observe phenomena 

passively, make collections, or actively 

probe the world. In some cases, scientists may 

control conditions through an experimental 

method (see p. 6). By focusing on the natural 

world, science precludes the use of the supernatural 

or magic as acceptable evidence or 

explanations. There are some questions that 

science simply cannot address. Science cannot 

investigate matters of religious faith, good 

versus evil, or beliefs such as astrology and 

supernatural hauntings. Because science is a human 

endeavor, the possibility of bias does exist. 

Through the process of examining evidence, 

however, bias is generally corrected over time. 

A theory is a model of how a specific aspect 

of the world works. A theory becomes widely 

accepted as it becomes more precise and can 

be used to make predictions about the natural 

world. The big bang theory, for example, came 

about as scientists tried to explain observations 

that were consistent with an expanding 

universe. Among other predictions, the big 

bang theory predicted the ratio of hydrogen 

to helium in the universe and the background 

temperature of the universe. As scientific observations 

confirmed these predictions, the 

theory became widely accepted and alternative 

explanations were rejected. Like all models, 

theories are not absolute truth, but are approximations 

of the natural world. Because they are 

approximations of the natural world, they are 

subject to change: Although a theory may fit 

observations well, modifications to the theory 

or an alternate theory may lead to a better fit. 

Modification of ideas rather than outright rejection 

is the norm for theories that have become 

widely accepted. 

What Should Science Look Like in 

the Classroom? 

A knowledge-centered science classroom 

focuses on science concepts and processes. 

Social constructivism, pioneered by the Russian 

psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1987), views 

knowledge construction as a result of indi- 

3

Section 1 The Nature of Science and Science Inquiry 

4 

viduals interacting in social environments. The 

activity by which knowledge is developed is 

not separable from the learning that is taking 

place. This means that, if the classroom does 

not reflect the culture of science, students will 

not have a full appreciation of the science content 

presented in that classroom. If science is 

presented to students only as a body of facts 

to memorize, students will view science as a 

collection of facts rather than what it is: a way 

of understanding the natural world 

In a knowledge-centered science classroom, 

students work to answer scientifically oriented 

questions by creating explanations based on 

evidence. This approach, called science inquiry, 

is how science is conducted. It creates a learning 

environment that reflects the culture of 

science. The National Research council (1996) 

states that “inquiry into authentic questions 

generated from student experiences is the 

central strategy for teaching science.” Inquiry 

teaching as described by the NRc has the following 

essential features: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 


The learner engages in scientifically oriented 

questions. 

The learner gives priority to evidence in 

responding to questions. 

The learner formulates explanations 

from evidence. 

The learner connects explanations to 

scientific knowledge. 

The learner communicates and justifies 

explanations. 

Variations in inquiry strategies can be described 

on a continuum based on the amount 

of teacher intervention. 

• Open (or Full) Inquiry, involves the least 

authoritative intervention by the teacher. 

Students generate questions and design 

and conduct their own investigations. 

• Guided Inquiry involves more direction 

from the teacher and generally involves 

the teacher presenting students with the 

question to be investigated. Students then 

plan and conduct their own investigations 

to answer the question. 

• In Structured Inquiry, teachers provide 

students with a series of questions and 

directions for investigations that students 

should complete. This is a more authoritative 

intervention: The teacher provides 

the problem and processes, but students 

are able to identify alternative outcomes. 

Table 1 illustrates the variations in teacher 

control for each characteristic of science inquiry. 

Incorporating inquiry into your teaching 

requires that you strategically decide how much 

control to exercise over the inquiry process. 

Your decisions should support student learning 

and take into account your students’ readiness 

to participate in inquiry. 

In 2002, chinn and Malhotra examined more 

than 400 activities found in nine commonly 

used middle school textbooks to determine how 

well they reflected characteristics of science 

inquiry. They found that nearly every activity 

failed to incorporate elements of science 

inquiry. To create a classroom environment 

focused on science inquiry, you will need to 

modify most of the activities that you use. The 

following list suggests simple modifications 

that you can make: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

have students create their own data 

tables. 

have students create their own procedures. 

After completing the activity, ask students 

to pose questions for further 

research. 

Focus students on providing evidence 

for every conclusion that they make. 

create “sentence strips” out of the 

procedures and have students properly 

sequence them. 

Move the activity to the beginning of 

instruction. have students complete the 

NATIoNAL ScIeNce TeAcheRS ASSocIATIoN

Table 1. 

Description of Various Levels of the Essential Features of Classroom Inquiry 


Essential Feature Variations 

More --------------- Amount of Learner Self-Direction --------------- Less 

Less ------------- Amount of Direction from Teacher or Material --------- More 

Learner engages in 

question provided by 

teacher, materials, or 

other source 

Learner sharpens 

or clarifies question 

provided by teacher, 

materials, or other source 

Learner poses a question Learner selects among 

questions, poses new 

questions 

1. Learner engages in 

scientifically oriented 

questions 


The Nature of Science and Science Inquiry 

Learner given data and 

told how to analyze 

Learner given data and 

asked to analyze 

Learner directed to 

collect certain data 

Learner determines what 

constitutes evidence and 

collects it 

2. Learner gives 

priority to evidence 

in responding to 

questions 

Learner provided with 

evidence and how to use 

evidence to formulate 

explanation 

Learner given possible 

ways to use evidence to 

formulate explanation 

Learner guided in 

process of formulating 

explanations from 

evidence 

Learner formulates 

explanation after 

summarizing evidence 

3. Learner formulates 

explanations from 

evidence 

Learner provided with 

an explicit connection to 

scientific knowledge 

Learner given possible 

connections 

Learner directed 

toward areas and 

sources of scientific 

knowledge 

Learner independently 

examines other resources 

and forms the links to 

explanations 

4. Learner connects 

explanations to 

scientific knowledge 

Learner given steps 

and procedures for 

communication 

Learner provided broad 

guidelines to sharpen 

communication 

Learner coached 

in development of 

communication 

Learner forms reasonable 

and logical argument to 

communicate explanations 

5. Learner 

communicates and 

justifies explanations 

Source: Data from National Research council. 2000. 

Section 1 

5


6 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 


activity before they are introduced to the 

content. 

Provide time for students to “mess 

about” with the materials before they 

begin their investigation. 

Provide students with options of what 

or how they investigate. 

hold a “scientist meeting” prior to the ac- 

tivity to discuss possible questions for investigation 

or investigation procedures. 

hold a “scientist meeting” after the activ- 

ity to discuss outcomes, conclusions and 

supporting evidence. 

What Skills Do Students Need? 

Students need to develop a variety of skills to 

fully participate in inquiry. 

• Students should have frequent opportunities 

to observe objects and events. Good 

observations should include information 

gathered from multiple senses and may 

involve scientific instruments. 

• Students should make educated guesses, 

or inferences, based on observations. 

• Students should be able to measure using 

standard (including metric) and nonstandard 

tools. 

• Students should be able to classify objects or 

events into categories based on criteria. 

• Students should be able to use words, 

symbols and graphical representations of 

data to communicate ideas. 

• Students should be able to interpret data by 

organizing data and identifying patterns. 

Table 2 describes age-appropriate performances 

for each of these skills. 

What Is the Experimental 

Method? 

one process by which scientists create new 

knowledge is called the experimental method. It 

consists of a series of well-defined steps that 

test one aspect of a phenomenon while holding 

the others constant. Many K–12 textbooks call 

the experimental method the scientific method, 

This is not accurate, however, because the experimental 

method is only one of the processes 

that scientists use. 

The experimental method involves the following 

steps: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Identifying a problem that can be investigated 

and determining the independent 

and dependent variables. Independent 

variables are those that can be easily 

changed or controlled. Dependent variables 

are those that are affected by the 

independent variables. 

Stating a hypothesis. experimenters 

should pick one independent variable 

and one dependent variable to test. They 

should then create a statement of how 

the independent variable will affect the 

dependent variable. 

Testing a hypothesis. experimenters design 

a “fair test” of their hypothesis. In a fair 

test, the independent variable is changed, 

the dependent variable is measured and the 

other variables are held constant. 

Analyzing results. Students try to make 

sense of their data. 

communicating conclusions. Students 

compare their results to their initial hypothesis 

and communicate their results. 

Table 3 describes age-appropriate experimentation. 


Table 2. 

Age-appropriate performances for science process skills 


Grades K–1 Grades 2–3 Grades 4–5 Grades 6–8 

Students should be able to explain 

that scientific inquiry is not 

possible without accurate observations. 

Students should be able 

to describe how technological 

advances have helped scientists 

make more accurate and new observations 

that have lead to new 

scientific knowledge. 

By this age, observations using 

multiple senses should be natural 

for students. Students should be 

comfortable determining what observations 

are useful and identifying 

proper scientific tools to assist 

in making observations. Students 

should be able to make qualitative 

and quantitative observations. 

Student conclusions should be 

supported by their observations. 

Students, with help, should be able 

to decide what observations are 

needed in order to provide useful 

data. Although most observations 

will be qualitative, students should 

begin making some quantitative 

observations. Students should be 

able to explain results or conclusions 

using observations. 

Students should be able to make 

basic observations using all five 

senses. Students should be able 

to make observations regarding 

color, size, and shape. Students 

should be able to use some basic 

scientific tools (e.g., hand lenses) 

to assist in making observations. 

Observing 



IMPORTANT: Students should follow teacher directions for safe observing. Students should not use smell, taste, or touch when observing hazardous 

materials. The use of hazardous materials should be avoided in elementary grades. 

At this level, students are able to 

use the data they collected to support 

and explain their scientific inferences. 

They are also able to discuss 

ideas and results with peers, 

teachers, and other adults. 

Students are growing developmentally 

and at this stage can use 

scientific tools, equipment, logical 

reasoning, resources, and dichotomous 

keys as ways to help develop 

their inferences. 

Students have had more experiences, 

but not a lot yet. They are 

able to better analyze data to 

make simple inferences and predictions 

about their experiments. 

Students should work with objects 

and activities that are relevant to 

them. They can make simple observations 

and make inferences 

as to why something happened, 

but with little background knowledge, 

based on their experiences. 

Inferring 

Students should be able to form 

hierarchical classification systems. 


groups that are mutually exclusive. 

Students should also be able 

to abstract the general attributes 

of objects in a collection. 


groups that are subordinate to a 

larger group. Students should recognize 

that the same object may 

have more than one attribute or 

characteristic that can be used in 

classification. 

Students should be able to sort 

objects into groups or categories 

based on common properties 

(color, size, shape, use). Students 

should be able to group objects 

by a single characteristic. 

Classifying 

Section 1 

NoTe: contributed by University of Wisconsin–La crosse science methods students during the fall 2007 semester. (cont on p. 8) 

7


8 

(cont from p. 7) 

Communicating 


Students should be able to deliver 

individual and group presentations 

and use mathematical 

equations and explanations to 

describe results. 

Students should be able to complete 

group projects, communicate 

ideas through poster making, 

and use diagrams to explain 

information. Students should also 

be able to create more complicated 

graphs and charts. 

Students should be able to create 

and read graphs, charts and 

diagrams. Students should explore 

number sentences and participate 

in journaling and teacher 

conferencing. 

Students should be able to share 

personal information (show and 

share), create basic graphs and 

read simple graphs and charts. 

Students should be able to describe 

objects, tell stories, and 

participate in playacting. 

Students should be able to determine 

volume by displacement 

and understand the difference 

between weight and mass. 

Students should be able to measure 

using the metric system. 

Students should be able to estimate 

the distance between points, 

weigh and compare objects, and 

identify the freezing and boiling 

points of water. Measurements 

should be made using fractions. 


intervals of time and compare 

weights. Students should 

become familiar with Fahrenheit 

and Celsius temperature scales. 


length and volume of simple 

objects using standard and nonstandard 

units. Students should 

be able to read a thermometer 

and clocks and be able to compare 

temperatures. At this age, 

student measurements should be 

to the nearest whole number. 

Measuring 

Students should be able to use 

collected data to support and 

explain scientific inferences. 

Students should be able to critique 

experimental designs and 

procedures. Students should 

be able to use qualitative and 

qualitative data from multiple 

sources to develop and defend 

scientific conclusions. 

Students should be able to identify 

sources of data and be able to 

determine and explain which data 

are needed to answer a scientific 

question. Students should use 

data to support scientific conclusions. 

Students should routinely 

incorporate and discuss graphical 

representations of data. 

Students should be able to use 

evidence to explain and justify 

results and conclusions. Students 

should recognize that there are 

multiple sources of information 

available to answer questions. 

Students should be able to report 

the results of science investigations 

to different audiences 

(friends, teachers, family) by using 

simple graphs, tables and illustrations. 

Students should be 

able to collect simple data from 

investigations. 

Interpreting Data 



Table 3. 

Age-appropriate experimentation 

Grades K–1 Grades 2–3 Grades 4–5 Grades 6-8 

Students are moving from the concrete 

stage to the abstract stage 

and are more able to be creative in 

planning experiments and analyzing 

Students are able to create their own 

experiments and all characteristics 

Students are able to conduct an investigation, 

interpret the results and modify ques- 



are appropriate for this age: 

• identifying questions that can be 

results: 

• discussing the results and implications 

of an investigation 

• deciding if the results are logical 

and accurate 

• raising further questions after the 

experiment is done 

• collecting data and defending the 

validity of the experiment 

• developing alternative hypotheses 

for the question 

• designing and conducting investigations 

answered with available equipment 

determining which equipment is 

• 

most logical to answer each question 

tions accordingly: 

• planning a simple investigation 

• deciding what observations are needed 

to explain the results 

• acquiring the sense that there might be 

more than one variable that is causing 

a particular happening, and decide how 

they are going to investigate that. 

• predicting the results of the investigation 

• conducting simple investigations 

• using evidence collected to explain results 

• selecting relevant equipment to use during 

the investigations 

• identifying data relevant to their questions 

and investigations 

• interpreting data 

• developing additional questions that 

support new investigations on the original 

topic 

Students participate in simple investigations. 

• asking questions 

• making observations 

• identifying what variable may be causing 

another to change. 

• selecting equipment for and conducting 

simple investigations 

• collecting some data 

• reporting the results of the investigations 

to others by using simple graphs, tables, 

and illustrations 

determining if the questions are 

testable 

identifying sources of data 

determining which data is needed 

to answer the question 

explaining the results of an investigation 

to others using multiple 

forms of communication 

verifying the results through other 

experimentation 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

NoTe: contributed by Rachel Knutowski. 

Section 1 

9


10 


The Articles 

This section contains seven articles that illustrate 

teaching that builds a learning environment 

conducive to student understanding of 

the nature of science and science inquiry. 

Article: A Literature-circles Approach to Understanding 

Science as a human endeavor 

Key Ideas: This article describes an approach 

to help students gain an understanding of the 

nature of science by reading and discussing 

nonfiction. 

Article: Light Students’ Interest in the Nature 

of Science 

Key Ideas: After students learn about electric 

circuits, they are challenged to explain how a 

“light up” shoe works. Students make observations 

and develop an explanatory theory for 

how the shoe works. This article describes connections 

between the activity and how scientific 

knowledge is created. 

Article: Did You Really Prove It? 

Key Ideas: This article describes four strategies 

for reinforcing the nature of science throughout 

the school year. 

Article: An Inquiry Primer 

Key Ideas: This article provides an overview of 

science inquiry by providing answers to questions 

commonly asked by teachers. 

Article: Inquiry Made easy 

Key Ideas: This article describes a step-by-step 

process for introducing science inquiry into 

your teaching. 

Article: Blow-by-Blow Inquiry 

Key Ideas: This article describes the “experimental 

Method” in progress. The authors also 

provide examples of how to scaffold students 

into inquiry. 

Article: Why Do We classify Things in Science? 

Key Ideas: In this article, the author explains 

how scientists use classification to help them 

make sense of new things. The author explains 

why this skill is important in the classroom. 

Action Steps 

1. Read more about the Nature of Science at 

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/nature/ 

index.shtml. 

2. Read chapter 1 of AAA’s ScienceforAllAmericans 

at www.project2061.org/publications/ 

sfaa/online/chap1.htm. 

3. Watch NoVA’s Judgment Day: Intelligent 

Design on Trial and describe how the 

show illustrates examples of the nature 

of science and examples of nonscientific 

thought at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id. 

4. Find a “cookbook” activity from the 

internet, a textbook, or an activity guide. 

Modify the activity so that it includes all 

of the characteristics of science inquiry. 

Try making modifications to create a 

guided-inquiry activity and an openinquiry 

activity. 

Reflection Questions 

1. how is the popular use of the word theory 

different from the scientific use of the 

word? 

2. What might a rubric for student understanding 

of the nature of science look 

like? What are the most basic ideas that 

students should master? What are the 

more complicated ideas? 

3. compare and contrast national or state 

standards for science inquiry for grades 

K–4 and 5–8. (Go to National Science 

education Standards, chapter 6 at www. 

nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/) 

4. Describe activities that you could use to 

introduce and reinforce the skills necessary 

to engage in science inquiry. 


5. 

6. 


how do the selected articles exemplify 

the nature of science and the characteristics 

of science inquiry? If you were 

going to use these in the classroom, what 

changes would you make? 

Under what circumstances would a high 

amount of teacher control in science 

inquiry be beneficial? A low amount of 

teacher control? 

References 

chinn, c. A., and B. A. Malhotra 2002. epistemologically 

authentic inquiry in schools: A theo- 



retical framework for evaluating inquiry tasks. 

Science Education 86 (2): 175–218. 

National Research council (NRc). 2000. Inquiry 

and the National Science Education Standards. Washington 

D.: National Academy Press. 

National Research council (NRc). 1996. National 

Science Education Standards. Washington Dc: 

National Academy Press. 

Vygotsky, L. S. 1987. The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky. 

Vol. I. Problems of general psychology, eds. R. 

W. Rieber and A. S. carton. N. Minick (trans.). 

New York: Plenum. 

Section 1 

11


A Literature- 

Circles Approach 

to Understanding 

Science as a 

Human Endeavor 

By William Straits 


The National Science education Standards 

suggest that middle school science 

teachers use “historical examples … to 

help students see the scientific enterprise as 

more philosophical, social, and human” (NRc 

1996). Fortunately for today’s science teachers, 

science-related, historical nonfiction has 

become a popular literary genre. Teachers can 

select books on a wide range of topics to help 

learners of all ages explore the history and 

nature of science. (See Figure 1 for a list of 

titles appropriate for young adolescents.) The 

reading of these books alone, however, does not 

necessarily lead students to make personal connections 

to science or to understand science as 

a human endeavor interdependent with culture, 

society, and history. Teachers must structure 

students’ reading to ensure that they consider 

specific aspects of science while reading and 

discussing books. one way for teachers to 

focus their students’ attention on components 

of the nature of science is through the use of 

literature circles. 

Literature Circles 

Literature circles were initially developed for 

young adolescents’ classroom reading (Daniels 

1994) and have since grown to be a very popular 

choice for middle school language-arts teachers. 

Literature circles are “small, temporary discus- 

13

14 



Figure 1. 

List of texts appropriate for middle school students’ explorations of the history and nature of 

science. These books are suitable for long-term reading assignments. 

Biographies of scientists 

Galileo: Astronomer and Physicist 

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane 

Curious Bones: Mary Anning and the Birth of Paleontology 

Issac Newton 

Always Inventing: A Photobiography of Alexander Graham Bell 

Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium 

Historical accounts of science 

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science 

The Planet Hunters: The Search for Other Worlds 

Fossil Feud: The Rivalry of the First American Dinosaur 

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow 

Fever Epidemic of 1793 

Scientific Explorers: Travels in Search of Knowledge 

sion groups” in which students are provided 

prompts or roles (Daniels 1994). The purpose 

of literature-circle roles is to guide students to 

develop understanding of particular concepts 

as they explore the text and meaningfully participate 

in small-group discussion. As students 

are reading, they perform specific roles and take 

notes that are used to support participation in 

small-group discussion. Several basic roles appropriate 

for the reading of most books have 

been offered by Daniels (1994) (see Figure 2). 

In addition to these all-purpose roles, others 

have been designed specifically with the goals 

of focusing students’ attention to issues of 

the nature of science and promoting students’ 

connection with science as they read historical 

nonfiction (Straits 2005; Straits 2007): 

• Everyday life connector—Search the 

reading for events, ideas, characters, 

R.S. Doak 

R. Freedman 

T.W. Goodhue 

K. Krull 

T.L. Matthews 

C.K. McClafferty 

J. Fleischman 

D.B. Fradin 

T. Holmes 

J. Murphy 

R. Stefoff 

objects, and so on that remind you of 

everyday life. Pay particular attention to 

science concepts. 

• Science skeptic—Analyze how science is 

done in the book. how does it compare 

to our inquiry investigations? consider 

specific aspects of experimental design. 

For example, are scientists in the book 

controlling variables, repeating their tests, 

avoiding bias, and using a large enough 

sample size? 

• Power investigator—Sometimes people 

with political, social, and/or economic 

power influence science. For example, 

they might determine who does science 

and who does not, or which ideas are 

investigated and which are not. Find out 

which group(s) have power and list a few 

ideas about how they are using their power 

to help or get in the way of scientists. 



• Science translator—While reading, take 

note of science vocabulary and concepts 

in the book. Use the internet, textbook, 

and other sources to find out more information 

about these ideas. 

• Historian—Scientific developments of 

the past are described in the book. Find 

out other things that happened at the 

same time (e.g., 1368–1644, Ming Dynasty; 

1819, birth of Walt Whitman; 1908, chicago 

cubs win World Series) 

• Science biographer—As you encounter 

different people doing science in the 

reading, use sources such as the textbook 

and the internet to locate interesting biographical 

information about each person, 

especially those connected to science. 

• Nature-of-science investigator—Factors 

that accurately describe science include 

scientific knowledge is based on evidence; 

scientists can never know for certain that a 

conclusion is correct; scientific knowledge 

changes over time; there are multiple ways 

to solve problems in science; scientists are 

often very creative in their attempts to solve 

problems; and scientists are people, influenced 

by their own personal beliefs and by 

society. While reading, look for examples of 

these factors in the book. 

• Science and culture connector—Science 

is greatly influenced by culture (the beliefs 

and values of particular societies at 

particular times in history). consider ways 

science was influenced by culture in the 

past and ways that science is influenced 

by our culture today. 

Group meetings are important times of learning 

as they provide a forum for active reflection 

that promotes the development and sharing of 

meaningful, personal connections to learning. 

During discussion in their small groups, students 

can use information gathered via their roles to 

help clarify meaning, draw parallels to other 

situations, articulate related personal experience, 


A Literature-Circles Approach to Understanding Science 

Figure 2. 

Generic literature-circle roles developed by 

Daniels (1994). These roles have become 

mainstays of the literature circles classroom 

and are appropriate for use with texts of 

nearly any topic. 

• Questioner: Your job is to write down a few 

questions that you have about this part of 

the book. 

• Literary luminary: Your job is to locate a few 

special sections or quotations in the text for 

your group to discuss. 

• Illustrator: Your job is to draw some kind of 

picture related to the reading you have just 

done. It can be a sketch, cartoon, diagram, 

flowchart, or stick-figure scene. 

• Summarizer: Your job is to prepare a brief 

summary of today’s reading. 

• Researcher: Your job is to dig up some background 

information on any topic related to 

your book. 

• Word wizard: Your job is to be on the lookout 

for a few words that have special meaning, 

are puzzling or unfamiliar, or stand out 

in the reading. 

• Scene setter: Your job is to carefully track 

where the action takes place during the 

daily reading. Describe each setting in 

detail. 

offer additional information, critique and analyze 

the text, and connect the text to the nature of 

science and investigative skills learned in class. 

Although discussions are prompted and guided 

by literature-circle roles, conversations are far 

from limited to simply reporting information; 

roles should enrich conversations, not delineate 

them. It should be made explicit to students 

that “group meetings aim to be open, natural 

Section 1 

15

16 



conversations about books, so personal connections, 

digressions, and open-ended questions 

are welcome” (Daniels 1994). In fact, it is these 

personal connections that are of particular value 

when discussing the interaction between science 

and social influences such as economics, history, 

culture, politics, and so on. For example, while 

discussing a book about inventions or discoveries 

of the past, students may talk about current 

events, their own family and personal experiences, 

as well as any number of topics ranging from 

professional athletes to today’s environmental 

policies and concerns. 

At the conclusion of each discussion, group 

members rotate roles and decide on a new section 

of text to be read. When the entire text 

has been completed, often after several group 

meetings along the way, group members create 

a presentation that represents their understanding 

of the topics/texts explored. These 

final presentations may take on any number 

of creative forms, such as impersonations of 

characters, an interview with the impersonated 

author(s), a news broadcast reporting events 

from the text, or a eulogy for a character (the 

preceding suggestions as well as many others are 

explained in Daniels 1994). Final presentations 

are valuable as they require students to organize 

information in unique ways, thereby demanding 

higher-level learning. The presentations serve 

as an opportunity for assessment and arouse 

the interest of other students in the topics/texts 

presented. If time allows, students can then 

choose new topics/texts, form new groups, and 

begin another round of literature circles. 

Why Literature Circles Work 

Readers may approach a book from an 

information-based or emotion-based stance, 

depending on their individual purposes for 

reading. The information-based, or efferent, 

stance accentuates the meaning readers take 

from the book, whereas the emotion-based, 

or aesthetic, stance prioritizes the previous 

experiences that readers bring to the text 

(Rosenblatt 1978). As they are reading a book, 

readers may be oriented to any point along the 

continuum between efferent and aesthetic, 

based on textual clues and an individual’s 

expectations and reasons for reading. For 

example, most fictional books orient readers 

toward the aesthetic. There is often, however, 

a great deal of information to be taken from 

these texts. 

consider Jack London’s To Build a Fire, in 

which London visits a familiar theme, the folly 

of man’s presumed superiority over nature. In 

this short story, a man and a dog take an ill-fated 

hike in the subfreezing temperatures of the 

Yukon Territory and the man’s fear, panic, and 

ultimate acceptance of death are detailed as he 

freezes to death, unable to build a fire. Readers 

may bring with them fear of cold, hunger, and 

death, fears that surface in them as they read. 

however, they can also take from this story 

information about seasonality and the tilt of 

the earth, the biotic and abiotic features of the 

taiga, and human physiology and thermoregulation. 

Similarly, students come prepositioned 

toward the efferent while reading most assigned 

science texts, including historical nonfiction. 

To identify with science and to see it truly as a 

human struggle, endeavor, passion, and need, 

students must be taken explicitly from their efferent 

stances and guided to view science reading 

from an aesthetic stance. Literature-circle 

roles are invaluable as they can guide learners 

toward both efferent and aesthetic interactions 

with text. 

Final Considerations 

Literature circles are an extremely flexible instructional 

strategy; there is no one right way to 

use them. But as you plan your instruction you 

may want to consider these lessons learned. 

• Text selection—Success with literature 

circles depends on the text selected as 

well as the reading interests and abilities 

of students. In selecting books to use, 



it is beneficial if the topic(s) covered in 

the text parallel concepts taught in class. 

For example, classroom instruction about 

atomic theory, isotopes, and radioactive 

decay should be provided in concert 

with literature circles reading books that 

describe Marie curie or the Manhattan 

Project. Your students are another important 

consideration in text selection. Ask 

colleagues or review student files to get 

a sense of individuals’ reading abilities. 

encourage students to select texts at their 

reading level. Finally, don’t judge a book 

by its cover; be sure to read the books 

yourself before assigning them. 

• Group size—Not all literature-circle roles 

need to be completed by each student or 

in preparation for each group meeting; 

group size is not dictated by the number 

of roles. Rather, group size should maximize 

the participation and learning of 

group members. Groups of three to five 

are generally preferred as they are large 

enough to allow for varying viewpoints 

and rich conversation and small enough 

to allow opportunities for members to 

contribute. 

• Time—A basic premise of the circles is 

that the most meaningful learning comes 

not from the reading of text, but from 

the discussion of text. optimally, students 

would meet in their discussion groups two 

or three times per week. however, more 

important than the number of meetings 

is the length of the meetings. As with 

most science instruction, longer intervals 

of time are ideal. Allot a minimum of 25 

to 30 minutes per group meeting. If your 

schedule allows 60 minutes per week for 

discussion groups to meet, consider two 

longer meetings rather than three short 

ones. Whatever schedule you decide, 

stick to it! A recipe for disaster is to hold 

literature-circle meetings “if time permits.” 

Depending on the frequency of 


A Literature-Circles Approach to Understanding Science 

meetings and the length and difficulty of 

the texts, a single literature-circle cycle 

may last a few to several weeks. Whatever 

the duration, throughout the reading assignment 

remember that reading their 

texts and performing literature-circle 

roles represent a significant time demand 

for students—adjust other homework assignments 

appropriately. 

• Assessment—Monitoring student discussion 

and roles can provide opportunities to 

give students feedback about their preparation 

for and participation during discussions. 

In addition to serving as formative 

assessment, monitoring student discussion 

will allow teachers to gather ideas 

for more formal assessments. Guided by 

roles, students will often ask extremely 

important discussion questions, compelling 

group members to explore personally 

meaningful connections to the text and 

the science presented within it. These very 

questions may be used later as individual 

summative assessments. Finally, group 

presentations provide opportunities for 

students to engage in higher-level learning 

as they synthesize a representation of their 

learning from the text and discussions and 

provide opportunities for you to assess 

each group’s ultimate learning outcomes. 

• Teacher’s role—During discussions the 

teacher’s role is one of facilitator. Productive 

and meaningful group discussion 

does not just happen; students will require 

support and prompting as they learn to 

discuss respectfully and productively. 

Taking time as a class to brainstorm the 

elements of productive discussions can be 

a valuable exercise. Also, as you read the 

texts in preparation for literature circles, 

it’s helpful if you perform some of the 

roles yourself. These will provide you 

with questions, discussion topics, insights, 

and connections of your own to offer to 

groups that may need some prompting 

Section 1 

17

18 



during their discussions. Finally, when 

all other groups are running smoothly, 

it is a great idea to join a literature circle 

as a group member. This participation 

has two key benefits. It will allow you to 

demonstrate for your students techniques 

for productive, respectful, and inclusive 

discussion and, most important, it will allow 

your students to see an adult’s genuine 

enthusiasm for reading about the history 

of science. 

William Straits is an assistant professor in the Department of 

Science Education at California State University, Long Beach, 

in Long Beach, California. 

References 

Daniels, h. 1994. Literature circles: Voice and choice 

in book clubs and reading groups. Portland, Me: 

Stenhouse Publishers. 

National Research council (NRc). 1996. National 

Science Education Standards. Washington, 

Dc: National Academy Press. 

Rosenblatt, L. M. 1978. The reader, the text, the 

poem: The transactional theory of literary work. 

carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University 

Press. 

Straits, W. 2005. Pre-service teachers’ representations 

of their developing nature of 

science understandings. Paper presented 

at the Qualitative Interest Group (QUIG) 

conference on Interdisciplinary Qualitative 

Studies, Athens, GA. 

Straits, W. 2007. Using historical non-fiction 

and literature circles to develop elementary 

teachers’ nature of science understandings. 

Journal of Science Teacher Education 18 (6). 



Air 

misconceptions about, 373–374, 374 

using KLEW charts in studying, 188–190, 

190 

Animals 

birds’ beak adaptations, 395–398, 395, 396, 

397 

in the classroom, 108, 458–459 

data chart, 109 

field trip observation, 92–93, 93 

frogs, 323–328 

isopod, 109, 110, 112 

loggerhead turtle, 305–309, 306, 307, 308 

migration tracking, 305–309, 306, 307, 308 

snail, 109–110 

tamarin, 92–93, 93 

tree frogs, 405–409, 407 

See also Fish 

Antarctica, glacial retreat in, 419–428, 420, 421, 

422–425, 426 

Aquariums, 109–113 

Art 

“photo” graphs, 301–304, 302, 303 

plant study and, 271–274, 271 

science and, 271, 273 

Assessment 

5E model, 446, 447, 451 

cartoons’ use for, 175–180 

embedded, 137–141, 138, 140, 143–145 

formative assessment probes, 159–163 

grading rubrics, 291 

journals, 170 

peer review sample questions (chart), 167 

questioning skills self-assessment, 199 

science writing as, 264 

self-assessment sample questions (chart), 168 

standards, 148 

student work products and, 171, 172 

Index 

Note: Page numbers in italics refer to tables or illustrations. 

temperature research rubric for, 363–364, 364 

See also under specific topics 

Astronomy. See Solar system 

Birds, beak adaptations, 395–398, 395, 396, 397 

Black box activity, 345–350, 346, 347, 348 

Blocks, building with, 329–333 

Blowing cotton balls, 44–48, 44, 45, 46 

Books 

about rocks, 121 

historical nonfiction, 13, 28–29 

picture books, 121, 147, 315 

science history, 14 

scientists’ biographies, 14, 29 

student-authored, 262–263, 262 

Building structures, 281–286, 329–333 

Buoyancy, 347–350, 347, 348 

Cartoons, as learning assessment tool, 175–180, 

178, 179 

Chemistry, classification in, 51–52 

Chromatography experiment, 40, 40 

Classification in the classroom, 51–53 

Classrooms 

animals in, 108, 458–459 

blocks, areas for building with, 330 

discussions, 133–134, 183–184 

group interaction protocols, 133–134 

management, stations and, 102–105, 103 

safety measures, 453–464 

sponge activities, 103–104 

station set-up, 100–102, 100, 101 

Clouds, lesson about, 128 

Copyright, fair use guidelines, 181 

Cotton balls, blowing project, 44–48, 44, 45, 46 

Cultural diversity, 209–213, 222 

capitalizing on, 219–222 

465

Index 

466 


English language learners, 223–226 

inquiry-based teaching and, 216 

views of science and, 215–216 

Earth/Moon survey misconceptions, 65–66, 66 

Earth sciences 

glacial retreat, 419–428, 420, 421, 422–425, 

426 

plate tectonics, 81–88, 82, 84, 86–87 

Egg bungee jump activity, 69–76, 71 

laboratory equipment, 70 

physics concepts in, 72–76, 73, 75 

skills addressed by, 71–72, 71 

Electricity 

challenge questions for students, 20 

classroom activities, 19–20, 21 

light-up tennis shoes, concepts in, 19, 21–22, 

24 

motion and, 9 

Energy 

conservation, 72–76 

transformations, 74–76 

English language learners, 223–226 

Experimental method, 6, 345–346, 346 

age appropriate process skills, 7–8 

model development, 23, 24 

Experimentation 

age-appropriate abilities, 9 

black box activity, 345–350, 346, 347, 348 

laboratory activity effectiveness, 30–31 

laboratory report checklist, 31 

temperature, porridge bowl activity, 359–364 

virtual simulations, 294–300, 294, 295, 296, 

297, 298, 299 

Explanations, scientific, 95–96 

Field trips, 89–93 

planning for, 90, 92 

safety precautions, 459–460 

types of, 91 

Film canisters, for black box activity, 345–350, 

346, 347, 348 

Fire prevention, 460–461 

Fish 

aquariums, 109–113 

guppies, 110–111 

See also Animals 

Floating and sinking, 347–350, 347, 348 

Food 

childhood obesity, 400–403 

digestive system, 389–393, 391 

Formative assessment probes, 159–163 

Frogs, 323–328 

tree frogs, 405–409, 407 

Fruit flies (Drosophilia), 294–300, 294, 295, 298, 

299 

Genetics, 411–414, 412, 414, 415 

Geography, turtle migration tracking, 305–309, 

306, 307, 308 

Geology 

glacial retreat, 419–428, 420, 421, 422–425, 

426 

plate tectonics, 81–88, 82, 84, 86–87 

See also rocks 

Geometry, in studying light, 275–279, 277, 278 

Gloop, 317 

Graphs 

“photo” graphs, 301–304, 302, 303 

of temperature data, 362–363 

Group work, 203–205 

heat, 361 

Historical nonfiction, 13, 28–29 

Homework, 77–80 

science journals, 381 

writing assignments that work, 256–260 

huff ‘n’ Puff inquiry, 44–48, 44, 45, 46 

information resources. See Websites 

inquiry, 43 

assessing, 165–172 

concrete thinking and, 34–35 

defined, 33 

features of, 4 

National Science Education Standards and, 43 

not just for gifted students, 34–35 

structure of, 40–41 

Web-based simulations for, 293–300 

NAtioNAL SCiENCE tEAChErS ASSoCiAtioN

Inquiry-based teaching, 125–129, 126 

5E model, 143–148, 144, 145, 445–450, 446, 

448–449, 451 

classroom management and, 35–36 

cultural diversity and, 216 

defined, 4, 33 

inquiry data sheet, 39–40, 40 

lesson factors, 171 

lessson characteristics, xviii 

modifying textbook activities for, 4–5 

noninquiry methods vs, 36 

objections to using, 31, 33, 37–38 

prediction sheets, 39, 39 

project themes, 389–390 

properties of matter, 315–317, 317 

Question wheel, 38–39, 38 

questioning cycle, 191–195, 192, 193, 194, 195 

questioning skills, 197–201, 199, 200, 201 

science notebooks for, 151–157, 153, 154, 

155, 156 

steps for, 38–40 

strategies, 4 

student skills needed for, 6 

teacher control in, 4, 5 

teacher’s role in, 35 

See also Science teaching 

inquiry data sheet, 39–40, 40 

Interdisciplinary teaching, 267–269 

art, “photo” graphs, 301–304, 302, 303 

art, science and, 271, 273 

art, in studying plants, 271–274, 271 

cautions about using, 268 

geography, turtle migration tracking, 305–309, 

306, 307, 308 

geometry, in studying light, 275–279, 277, 278 

mathematics, science and, 281–286, 330, 330 

social studies and, 281–286 

See also Performing arts; Science teaching 

internet. See Websites 

Journals. See Science notebooks 

KLEW charts, 187–190 

KWL charts, 187 



Light, 417 

geometry in studying about, 275–279, 277, 

278 

pathways of, 370, 370, 418 

refraction experiments, 278, 370 

science circus activities, 367–371, 368 

See also Physics 

Literature circles, 13–14 

lessons learned, 16–18 

student roles for, 14–16, 15 

why they work, 16 

London, Jack, 15 

Mass, volume and, 347–350, 347, 348 

Mathematics 

“photo” graphs, 301–304, 302, 303 

in science studies, 281–286 

Matter 

formative probes about, 161–163, 162 

in motion, KUD chart, 104, 104 

Metacognitive activities, 58–59, 59 

Meteorology, 311–313, 312 

Moon phases studies, 67–68, 68, 148 

Motion, force and, 74–76 

Multicultural classrooms. See Cultural diversity 

National Science Education Standards, 341–343 

Assessment Standard A, 148 

Assessment Standard C, 148 

Content Standard A, xviii, 127, 190, 292, 304, 

328, 333 

Content Standard B, 163, 333, 339–340, 371 

Content Standard C, 274, 292, 304, 309, 328, 

340, 358 

Content Standard D, 124, 127, 148, 163, 340 

Content Standard E, 292, 309 

Content Standard G, 19, 28 

inquiry and, 43 

in interdisciplinary activities, 282–283, 282 

Program Standard C, 304 

Teaching Standard A, 127, 371 

Teaching Standard B, 28, 371 

Teaching Standard C, 163, 190 

See also Science teaching 

Neighborhood model activity, 281–286 

Index 

467

Index 

468 


News articles, on science, analyzing, 30, 30 

Notebooks. See Science notebooks 

Nutrition, childhood obesity, 400–403 

oobleck, 315–317, 317 

Particle theory, 373–376, 374, 375 

Performing arts 

performing simulations, 244–246, 245, 246 

science teaching via, 242–246 

volcano rap script, 245 

See also interdisciplinary teaching 

Physics 

air, misconceptions about, 373–374, 374 

energy, 72–76 

force, 74–76 

heat, 361 

matter, formative probes about, 161–163, 162 

matter, in motion, KUD chart, 104, 104 

motion, 74–76 

particle theory, 373–376, 374, 375 

pressure, 377–381, 379, 380 

temperature, porridge activity, 359–364, 360, 

362, 364 

See also Light 

Physiology 

cardiovascular system, 399–403, 402 

digestive system, 389–393, 391 

Picture books. See Books 

Plants, 119 

bulb planting project, 271–273, 271 

kindergarten activities, 319–321 

pollution and, 115–120, 116, 117 

Plate tectonics, 81–88, 82, 84, 86–87 

Poetry 

“there’s More to teaching Science,” xi–xii, 

57, 437 

writing “found” poems, 243, 243 

Pollution 

effects on animals, 384–386, 385 

plants and, 115–120, 116, 117 

solid waste disposal, 383–386 

Pressure, 377–381, 379, 380 

Question of the day, 29, 30 

Question wheel, 38–39, 38 

Questioning skills, 197–201, 199, 200, 201 

question types, 250, 251 

questioning cycle, 191–195, 192, 193, 194, 195 

reciprocal questioning, 252–253 

Reading, success factors, 249–253 

reading. See Books; Literature circles 

rocks 

formative probes about, 159–161, 160, 163 

pet, 121–123 

picture books about, 121 

stories about, 123–124 

See also Geology 

ronsberg, Doug, xi–xii, 57, 437 

Safety, 453–464 

checklist, 463–464 

eye protection, 455 

fire prevention, 460–461 

Science 

in the classroom, 3–6 

cultural perspective and, 215–216 

defined, 3 

as evidence–based explanation, 95–96 

model development, 23, 24 

nature of, 24, 28, 29 

process, black box activity, 345–350, 346, 347, 

348 

school vs professional, 23–24, 23 

society’s acceptance of concepts, 27–28 

Science approaches to, 4, 33–34, 34 

Science Bound program, 219–222 

Science circus, 367–371 

Science inquiry. See inquiry 

Science notebooks 

interactive, 151–157, 153, 154, 155, 156 

journals, 170, 381 

Wonder notebooks, 250–252 

See also Science writing 

Science talk, 133–134, 183–184 

Science teaching, 237–239, 337–339, 437–438 

analyzing news articles, 30, 30 

classroom discussions, 133–134, 183–184 

controversial topics, 131–135 



cultural diversity and, 209–213 

embedding assessment in, 137–141, 138, 140, 

143–145 

to English language learners, 223–226 

group work, 203–205 

how to “inquirize,” 125–129, 126 

inquiry vs noninquiry methods, 36 

laboratory activity effectiveness, 30–31, 31 

lenses of, 57–63 

performing arts used for, 242–246 

professional organizations, benefits of, 

439–442 

question of the day, 29, 30 

to special needs students, 229–232 

station approach to, 99–105 

about the nature of science, 28 

strategies for, 221–222 

supporting cultural diversity in, 216 

through history and biography, 13, 14, 28–29 

unit planning, 445–450, 451 

See also inquiry-based teaching; 

interdisciplinary teaching; National Science 

Education Standards; specific disciplines such 

as Geology or Meteorology 

Science writing, 47–48, 47, 48 

as assessments, 264 

“found” poems, 243, 243 

performance art scripts, 243–246, 245, 246 

scientists’ need for skill in, 255 

student-authored books, 262–263, 262 

teaching strategies, 255–260 

See also Science notebooks 

Scientific method. See Experimental method 

Shoes. See tennis shoes 

Snail, 109–110 

Sneakers. See tennis shoes 

Social constructivism, 3–4 

Social studies, science in, 284–285 

Solar system 

Google Earth with GIF overlays, 430–433, 

431, 432 

scaled sizes, 432, 433 

traditional models, 429–430 

Sound, assessment of activities about, 140 

Sound waves, 353–357, 357 


Space science 

conceptual change in, 65–68 

Earth/Moon survey misconceptions, 65–66, 

66 

Moon phases studies, 67–68, 68 

Special needs students, 229–232 

Standards. See National Science Education 

Standards 

Stem cell research, ethics, 131–135, 132, 133 

Students 

family involvement in homework, 79 

homework choice, 79 

Tamarin, 92–93, 93 

taxonomies. See Classification in the classroom 

teachers 

Internet social networks for, 438 

objections to inquiry-based methods, 31, 33, 

37–38 

professional organizations, benefits of, 

439–442 

role in inquiry-based teaching, 35 

role in literature circles, 17–18 

teaching of science. See inquiry-based teaching; 

Science teaching 

temperature 

heat, 361 

porridge bowl activity, 359–364, 360, 362, 364 

tennis shoes, light-up, for electricity lesson, 19, 

21–22, 24 

textbooks 

modifying activities for inquiry, 4–5 

students’ dislike of, 241–242 

“There’s More to Teaching Science” (poem), 

xi–xii, 57, 437 

To Build a Fire, 16 

tornadoes, lesson plans, xvi 

turtle, loggerhead, 305–309, 306, 307, 308 

Virtual Courseware website, 293–294 

Volcanoes, 242–243 

Volume, mass and, 347–350, 347, 348 

Weather, 311–313, 312 

Weather. See Meteorology 

Index 

469

Index 

470 


Web quests 

Cell City, 289–292, 290, 291 

science sites, 260, 292 

Websites 

amphibian species identification, 410 

Antarctic food web, 428 

cardiovascular system, 399 

childhood obesity prevention, 403 

educational innovations, 357 

field trip planning, 93 

Flinn Scientific, 357 

fruit flies (Drosophilia), 300 

girls and science, 213 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears, 365 

Google Earth, 433 

hurricanes, 309, 313 

intelligent design, 10 

krill, 428 

light, properties of, 371 

Moon-phase calendar, 68 

National Science Teachers Association, 442 

National Wildlife Federation Kids & Families, 

387 

on nature of science, 10 

plant biology, 274 

Plein-Air Painters of America, 274 

science teaching resources, 438 

sea turtles, 309 

SMAthematics, 358 

solar system overlay maps, 433 

special needs students, 213 

on stem cells, 133 

teaching ideas, 321 

tornado lesson plan, xviii 

tree frog species (SPICE), 410 

weather, 311–313 

web quests, 260, 292 

Wisconsin Fast Plants, 120 

Zoobooks magazine, 387 

Writing. See Science writing

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